Hell or High Water (2016, R)

In the grand scheme of things, I’d say Hell or High Water probably won’t win anything big come Oscar night.  However, that’s not to say it isn’t a very good film – it is, and it has a lot to recommend it.  But even without the big three-way horse race between La La Land, Moonlight, and Manchester by the Sea, it doesn’t quite feel like the sort of film you picture when you think “Oscar film.”

Early one morning, with a little fumbling and no fanfare, brothers Toby and Tanner begin a crime spree, robbing different branches of the same bank across Texas.  There’s a strange method that emerges within their madness, and as reports of their robberies continue to come in, a close-to-retirement Texas Ranger chases them inexhaustibly, determined to follow the odd clues they’re leaving to the end of their trail.

While there is certainly variety in the sorts of movies that get Best Picture nominations, there’s frequently a certain scope to them – whether in pedigree, budget, importance, or artistry – that isn’t really on display here.  Hell or High Water is a tightly-crafted, well-directed film with a fine cast all turning in good work, but it doesn’t have that “prestige” air about it, or barring that,  a “hidden gem” indie quality.  It’s just a film that gets its job done incredibly well.  I don’t hold that against it, though.  On the contrary; I find it refreshing that an exceptionally well-made “regular” movie is getting recognized for its quality, even if it’s unlikely to rise to the top in voters’ minds.

Although all of the film’s assorted elements come together really well, the screenplay is – for my money – its best feature.  The characters feel specific yet understated, the dialogue hits all the right notes, and the plot unfolds with a deft hand.  The details of the brothers’ plan are rolled out slowly, building to an interesting crescendo that’s just excellent to watch.  And even though “grizzled law enforcement veteran who gets obsessed with a case when he’s this close to retirement” is a fairly dusty chestnut, the ranger Marcus comes off like a person instead of an archetype.

On that last point, part of it is of course down to Jeff Bridges’s engaging performance.  Between his shrewd police work and his amusing misanthropy, Marcus is a definite win as a character, and I especially enjoy the back-and-forth between him and his partner Alberto (played by Gil Birmingham) – it would’ve been easy to hit the same (entertaining) beat with these two throughout the film, but there’s just enough additional complexity here to make their relationship even more interesting.  As the brothers, Chris Pine and Ben Foster also turn in really good work.  They’re by turns funny, rootable, messed-up, and unlikeable, and the constant of their relationship with one another is the underpinning of the film.  Foster’s more unstable Tanner catches the eye more readily, but Pine does a nice job navigating Toby’s complex motivations.

Warnings

Violence, language, sexual references, and drinking.